“That’s enough, kid. You did well for today. But, sadly, you’re not allowed to eat dinner,” Vulcan uttered, as he opened the door leading to the training area’s exit. “Why? I’m the one who paid for our meal! It came from my hard earned money!” I cried, sounding desperate in front of an old man. “I know. But I made this training session for you. If you want to eat, go eat. But don’t use this place.” “If I can’t use this place, who else would?! I’m your guest, goddammit!” I cursed, as my stomach grumbled. “Nobody except for you.” After we ended our conversation, Vulcan and I headed outside the training area. He told me that I was free to use this place whenever I liked. However, the old man also told me that I needed to look out for my health. “Your mind might want to train, but your body wouldn’t.” Those thoughts echoed inside my head, as I hit the sack without crunching anything inside my mouth. When tomorrow came, I went to the main hall and saw capsules of some sort and a dece
“I have to brute force everything. If this sniper can do it, I should do it. There’s nothing else that I can do besides that, old man,” I said, while blankly staring at his disappointed face. “Move aside and let me just… pull this trigger once more and try.”“Even if you try, Aoi, you’re never going to hit them,” Vulcan, who kept calling me by my name, caught my attention. He had never been this concerned for me when the two of us first met. When Vulcan finally noticed that I lent my ears to him, he placed his arms, which were crossed earlier, on his face and massaged his temples. “You don’t understand, Aoi. The key is not depending on your powers. The ability comes from you, not the sniper. You’ve been relying on the damn weapon!” Vulcan yelled as if he was spelling it out for me.But I didn’t care and carried on with what I had in mind. Even though I paid attention to Vulcan, his words didn’t produce meaning inside my head. All I could think of remained the same. I must take down f
The stones hit the target practice, not the wall or the post nearby. It hit the dummy. A crashing, but brief sound reverberated through my eardrums as the portal and my system notified me about hitting my target. The number shown on the top side part of my view decreased from one hundred to ninety, telling me that I eliminated one puppet. And that puppet I struck with the stone stopped moving in front of me. The last time I saw the target dummy stop moving was my first time strolling inside this training room. I never thought that the day would come that I would see this figure staring at me without moving around. “I hit it! I HIT IT!” I chirruped.Every cell inside my body cheered for my achievements. Although I had defeated the Wyvern and the Grim Reaper, this was my first time that I had felt like achieving something with such difficulty. Defeating monsters and portals was one thing. But learning a new skill from my own abilities was something different. Since I was already in t
“But what if they die because of me? Why would I let them risk their lives for me, when I am the one with the sniper system?” I asked, and demanded for an answer.I already had my ice cream in my hands, but it was starting to melt throughout our conversation. But I didn’t mind it for now. All I wanted was to hear Vulcan’s explanations and his ideas through this topic. Vulcan placed the plastic bag on the table and opened the wrapper from his ice cream. He also bought an ice cream for himself when he gave one to me. His ice cream also showed signs of melting, especially on his cone.“The hardest part about this job is that we can’t save everyone. There will be casualties far beyong what you’ve seen. And if that happens, everyone you love will be on the line. “Do you really think the people around you are defenceless? Even though you have an overpowered ability, it doesn’t mean that the people around you are powerless. You need to rely on yourself, not from your power alone. But just
When Vulcan exploded the dummy, the number from my top view decreased. Since I had already defeated ten dummies earlier, there were only ninety nine target practice left for me to battle. But in this case, I had to protect them. However, everything changed when Vulcan told me about his new challenge and destroyed the target mannequin behind me. As soon as that happened, the ninety dummies became eight-nine really quick. It just meant that Vulcan was ahead of me, showcasing his power. But the real struggle didn’t lie within this battle. It was because of the battle’s descriptions. Vulcan and I needed to treat the dummies like they were people I had to save, and the old man was an enemy. He told me that this was my training, apart from taking down those dummies earlier, which already became different. I was moving in an uncharted area, but the setting felt the same. It was because this happened when I was inside the portal.Whenever I entered a portal, the instructions to defeat the d
Vulcan’s Point of View ___________________ This happened last twelve years ago. The memories of the past haunted me and became fresh wounds that re-opened on my vulnerable mind. I didn’t want to recall it. I never wanted to. But alas, my brain took control of my thoughts and flashed every little thing that had happened. It was the day where I lost everything. (Note: This Bonus Chapter will cover two chapters) ……. “Come on, son. You can do it. Lift your arms up, don’t stiffen your shoulders, and allow your hands to be free like the wind. Watch your old man do it. Like this.” I raised my hand and punched the three right in front of my kid. There was a sea of trees resting in plain sight, waiting to be cut down. My son disliked the idea, but I convinced him to tag along with me to train in the forest. It was a site near our home in Russia, where there was a place abundant with mountains and lands to choose from. Even the scent of leaves and grass had already infiltrated my nostrils
Vulcan’s Point of View___________________Our house was a normal-looking bungalow residing near the forest. We still lived near the village, but the location was just vibrant and near the crop field. I was the chief of this small village - a province in Russia. It wasn’t well-known, not until the portals came in.People elected me as their governor, considering the popularity I had among my neighbours. We were not rich or poor. My family just had enough to support ourselves while constantly checking on others about it. Everyone in this town was willing to help each other out, especially after talking to them and motivating them to do so. But when I knew that these portals existed as a chief, I also learned that I wasn’t the only one who was gifted with power. However, for the time being, not everyone received a gift. Someone told me that I could smith, which I immediately used the ability and ran a business. It was a shop down the street, which bloomed because of the materials I use
Vulcan’s Point of View ___________________ When I raced towards our home, Maxim, my son, was with me. He never wandered or lost track of me, especially when I told him to follow me no matter what. But now, I never saw him inside the house or outside this place. And I didn’t know if Maxim’s absence was a saving grace or another problem I had to face, besides the ogre sniffing for me. However, something happened. Before assuming anything, a soft wailing sound echoed outside. It was a familiar voice, belonging to my son. And when the sound reverberated inside the house, the ogre switched targets and had its eyes at the door. The monster didn’t even bother checking its surroundings and went straight outside the house. But despite the sudden outcome, the situation wasn’t a good thing. It was a bad thing. That voice that came outside our home belonged to Maxim, my son. And he sounded like he was in trouble, just like Inessa called for me when she needed my help. So instead of idling aro